Earlier this year, Babak* and his wife made the difficult decision to flee their home in Iran's capital Tehran with their young son.

The family left behind a comfortable, busy life - Babak worked two jobs as an engineer and a psychologist - full of friends, to risk their lives on an expensive and perilous three day boat journey from Indonesia to Christmas Island.

"We had small boat and too many people in the boat and windy and we haven't enough life jackets. We was very worry, really we thought we would die."

Babak says the people smugglers lied to him about the condition of the boat they would travel in, but says either way they didn't have a choice.

"Maybe we will die, if we stay in my country I was dead."

After spending two months on Christmas Island, the family was transferred to a detention centre in Port Augusta. About a month later, they were then moved into the community and relocated to Colac, along with more than 50 other asylum seekers.

After six weeks, Babak and his wife were among the 25 people who chose to stay.

"Now we could move to big cities and some of my friends did that, but my wife and I decided to stay here because we feel this town is very safe, good people live here and we can make again a good life."

Babak and his wife are now in a state of limbo - they are on bridging visas, not allowed to work, and don't know what their future will bring, and whether or not the new Federal Government will implement its hardline asylum seeker policies.

"We don't know what will happen but we wait for a better future, we hope better will come."

Babak is sceptical about the new Iranian president's moves to improve the country's relationship with the west, and says for the Iranian people, nothing has changed.

Colac community offers strong support

Rachel Walker is a case worker at Diversitat, the organisation that's been contracted to support the asylum seekers in Colac.

She says the community response to the asylum seekers has been amazing.

"We've had people donating clothes, food, their time, people have been voluntering to do English, people have been taking our families on trips to Warrnambool, Apollo Bay."

Ms Walker says under the 'no advantage' rule none of the asylum seekers are allowed to work, which is difficult for them.

"I think for all of the families not being able to work really prevents them from being able to participate fully in the community."

She says all of them had jobs in their home countries, and most come from professional backgrounds.

"So without being able to work they're at home, they have time to think about what they've left, the experiences they've been through, and also to think about what on earth is going to happen in their future."

Ms Walker says it's difficult to say how that future looks, and the organisation has not yet received any advice from the new government.

"I know that his child is going to start kinder next year, I know that Babak and his wife are going to help in our community garden, those things I know, but as far as what kind of visa they're going to be on, I can't answer that because I don't know."

*Babak chose to be identified by his first name only to protect the identity of his family in Iran.

Babak, his wife and young son - who did not want their faces shown to protect the identity of their family in Iran - spend a lot of time in their home, as Babak and his wife aren't allowed to work.
(Lily Partland - ABC Local)